Iran thrashes Malaysia for first win in Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship

The national Iranian volleyball team has registered its first win at the preliminary round of the second edition of Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship in Thailand, powering past the Malaysian outfit in straight sets.

The Iranian sportswomen claimed a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23 and 25-16) victory over their Southeast Asian rivals in a Pool D match at the Mall Korat MCC Hall in the northeastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima on Sunday.

The first set became a tight battle, which saw Malaysia earning the first ten points. The Iranian volleyball players, however, played much better in crucial moments to take the hard-fought affair 25-21.

The Iranian squad then did not capitulate and took the remaining two sets 25-23 and 25-16.

“Malaysia was not a weak team at all. We had a different idea about the team prior to the start of the Asian championship. We carried out an in-depth analysis of the techniques that Malaysians applied during their previous match against New Zealand,” Iran’s head coach Sima Seddiqi said after the match.

“We started the first set very poorly. My girls lost many points within the opening minutes, but could establish themselves in a little while and emerged victorious at last. Both teams traded points by points in the second set. Malaysia enjoys two agile and tall players, who perform well in any position they are put in. These two players accumulated a lot of points for the Malaysian team,” she added.

Iran will next take on New Zealand in its preliminary second match in Pool D on Monday.

The second edition of Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship started in Thailand on May 13, and will finish on May 21, 2017.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is in Pool D with Malaysia and New Zealand. Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand have been drawn in Pool A.

Japan is pitted against Uzbekistan and Vietnam in Pool B. Australia, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka shape Pool C.

The tournament serves as the Asian qualification tournament for the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship.

The tournament will be hosted by Slovenia in the cities of Ljubljana and Maribor from August 27 to September 3, 2017. A total of 12 teams are expected to compete.

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